Separating-case.



C. H. MIDDAUGH.

SBPARATING CASE. Arrmourdn mum 00126, 1911.

Patented June 25, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

G. H. MIDDAUGH. SBPARATQNG GASB. APPLIOATION'I'ILIID 001'. 26, 1911.

PatentedJu1(25, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

To all wiiom it may come-m.-

' "ice in which letters, cards, papers, &c., may i .1 least upon the front side to receive the removing the papers from the front of the holder, they may be removed from the back i cutting them short of the back, so that the papers can be grasped and withdrawn withthe operator.

a cabinet inany desired number, or a shelf f a near the front edge of the shelf to carry;

' of the guide-bar and partit ons; 3 is "connected to the titions.

--stood 'by reference to the annexed drawings, 3

' Figure 1 1s a perspective view :of a sepa- SATESJPMEWOFEIQ 1 cAnLIsLn n mrnnauen, or nawnnncnvrnm, rnnnsrnvnnia. i

i .snr:

nine-case.

Specification 'of iLetters Patent. Patented. June 25, 191%.,

Application filed October 26, 1911. Serial No. 656,908.

Be it known that l, CAnmsLE H. Mm- DAUGH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lawrenoeville, county of Tioga, 5 and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and-usefuL Improvements in Separating-Cases, fully described and represented in the following specification and the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the same.

Thisi'nvention relates to a separating debe temporarily held inseparate groups during a sorting operation.

The invention relates to a holder open at papers while sorting, and the invention includes partitions secured movably at theirfront ends upon a rod, and the rod provided with means for holding it adjustably the holder .with the rod, to allow of quick and easy access to the papers when sorted, the papers then remaining in the holder ready for bunching or tying. Instead of by making the back of the holder open and notching the rear ends of the partitions or outmoving the partitions. The holder is preferably mounted upon a pivot, so that either the 'front or back can be turned to The holder may be used openlyaupon a desk, or set upon shelves in 1 in a cabinet may be used as the bottom of the holder, and the rod mounted'removably l the partitions. In either case, grooves are I made in the ends of the holder close to the bottom, to receive sliding bars which arei guide-rod carrying the par- The invention also includes various details of construction, which will be underi in which;

rating case complete; Fig. 2 is a plan' amend .view of the same;- Fig. .4. is a transl'vers e yert cal section of a cab net A with tivejshelves, and. doors hinged} to the back of fourv of the shelves; 5 is a perspecnets pivoted thereon; and Fig. 6 of a perspective view of a holder with the back open to remove the paper from the rear side of the same.

: tive view of a table-top with three cabi- In Fig. 1, the holder shown with the bottom a, ends 6, and back 0, the ends having, close to the-bottom, grooves d in which sliding-bars e are fitted and connected rigidly at, their outer ends to the guiderod f. Blocks 9 are fitted movably upon the guide-rod, andthe lower front corners of the partition '71. are attached to. such blocks. The fronts of the blocks are 5pm. vided with serial numbered, as adesigna tion for the group of papers nextl,t,o each partition. The blocks may .be provided with descriptive labels'ifpreferred. B-y. sliding the bars 0 into the grooves d, the rod-fie held at the front edge of the bottom a with the partitions extending backwardly therefrom and resting upon the'bottom. Asthe blocks and their attached partitions are movable upon the-guide-rod, the partitions can-be set at any distance from one another,

or from the ends 6 of the holder, and the holder being entirely open upon the front, the papers can be readily inserted between the partitions, and the partitions pressed close upon the papers, when it is desired to group them together for removal.

If the holder be set upon a" desk, the,

papers can be removed from theopen top, but if placed in a cabinet as shown in-Figs. 4 and 5, any part of the papers can be readily removed from the holder, by withdrawing the guide-rod and partitions. The removal of the papers can also be facilitated by making the back of the holder 'o ea'as shown in Fig. 6, and extending thep'artitions only two-thirds of the way backward, so that when placed between shelves in, a cabinet, as in Figs. 4 and 5, with suitable doorsin the back of the cabinet, the papers can be removed from between the'partitions without movingthe guide-rod or partitions at all.- i

Doors D are shown hinged to the rear edges --of-t'ourof the shelves,- and may be mounted'upon s ring hinges,,-such as are commonly used or such purposes, to-hold the doors normally shut. IniFig. 5, the eabinets-'.$,,;A ,.and'Attire shown mounted upon a desk B} "mountedmpon pivoted standards: Hf "w "'ch' the back of any of the cabinets can be turned around for withdrawing the papers from the rear ends of the holders. In Fig. 5, three 'cabinets'a re shown with doors C, which are closed upon the cabinet A and the cabinet A is shown with grooves d formed in its of the cabinet form the ends of the holder,

' but the operation of the holder and of the partitions therein is exactlythe same as with v the separate holder shown in Fig. 1.

By extending the partitions only a part of the way backward in. the holder within the cabinet, whether such holder be separate or formed upon the cabinet shelf, the papers when set between the partitions, in contact with the rear doors 0 the cabinet, project beyond the partitions, and can be easily grasped for removal when such rear doors are opened. I

The guide-rod with its end-bars 6, its movable blocks 9 and partitions h attached thereto, forms an attachment for filing-cabinets which can obviously be used with the separate holder shown in Fig. 1, or with the cabinet shelves having grooves (1' near their ends, as in the cabinet A in Fig. 5, and I have therefore made claim to such a cabinetattachment for separating and sorting papers.

The cabinets are shown with a vertical series of holders, with a variety ofv constructions embodied in the cabinet A to illustrate the different modes in which the holder or separator can be used in the cabinet. The top shelf in the cabinet A has grooves d formed immediately above the shelf to receive the sliding-bars e, and the parts a and b are not, therefore, employed. Upon the remaining shelves of that cabinet, the separate holders are shown with bottom a and ends 6, the holders upon three of the shelves being open at the back so that the contents can be withdrawn from the rear by opening the doors D. The two lower spaces in the cabinet havecompletely separate holders with inclosed backs like that shown in Fig. 1, from, which the papers can be removed from the front only. All of the holders except that formed by the top shelf are removable from the cabinet with all their contents. 7

The partitions hare preferably formed of thin flexible-elastic metal, which bends .readily when bunching the papers together which have been assembled between the par- Y titidns, as when withdrawing them from the rear side-of the holder.

. It will be understood that the guide-rod f which suppbrts the partitions movably is located close to the bottom of the holder at the front edge of the same, so as not to m-. terfere with the insertion of the papers from the front of the holder between the several 0 partitions.

A holderopen at the back is preferably mounted upon a pivoted standard H whet-her a single holder be used, as in Fig. 6, or a cabinet containing a collection of such holders, as inFig. 5.

The movability of the rod f with the par-' titions not only permits them to be removed entirely from the holder but to be drawn partly forward whenever necessary, to insertdocumentsof unusual length between the partitions, it being understood that the papers, letters, circulars, or other matter to be sorted' is in practice placed upon the bottomof the cabinet behind the r'od. f, so that the rod prevents them from accidentally slipping out of the holder at the front.

This separating device is not designed for use as a permanent file, but for tempo- 90, rarily holding the papers, &c. during a sorting operation, at the end of which they would be removed. The structureis thus designed to accommodate itself to the sizes of the groups, by having the partitions 5 freelymovable upon the guide-rod and to the length of the'papers .or documents by drawing the rod 7 forwardly to the required extent in the holder. The holder is thus adapted to a great variety of uses, and 0 for such uses suitable labels may be affixed to the partitions in any manner and at any convenient point, whether at the top or bottom of the partition.

As the rod f offers a slight hindrance to the removal of the papers at the front, I consider it preferable to make the holder open at the back and mount it so that the back can be turned to the operator whenever desired, to withdraw the sorted papers.

Having thus set forth the nature of the invention what is claimed herein is: V

1. The combination, with a holder having ends provided with grooves, of bars fitted movably to the grooves, a guide-rod connecting the bars, and partitions having a movable connection with the guide-rod, whereby the rod and partitions can be simult-aneously removed from the holder.

2. The combination, with a holder having ends provided with grooves, of bars fitted movably to the grooves, a guide-rod connecting the bars, and partitions having a movable connection with the guide-rod, such partitions being formed of a flexible '18 elastic metal to facilitate the removal of the papers.

3. The combination, with a holder having ends provided with grooves, of bars fitted movably to the grooves and connected by a 13.

guide-rod, blocks fitted movably to the guide-rod, and partitions attached to the blocks and projected therefrom between the ars. t

4. The combination, with a cabinet having a vertical series of holders for papers with a door at the rear end of each holder, and each holder having grooves at the bottom of its ends, of bars fitted removably to the grooves, a guide-rod connecting such barsand having blocks movable thereon and par- 7 titions attached thereto with space between the rear ends of such partitions and the rear doors of the cabinet, whereby the papers can be grasped at the rear end without interference from the partitions when the rear doors are opened.

5. A cablnet having a series of holders, guide-rods mounted removably at the front edge of each holder With partitions projected part way to the back of the cabinet, doors upon the front ofthe cabinet exposing all of the holders, and a series of doors at the back of the cabinet for exposing each holder separately. I

6. A holder for sorting letters, papers, &c. having a bottom and ends provided with grooves and having back and front open, slide-bars fitted movably to the grooves, a' guide-rod connecting the bars, partitions having a movable connection with the guiderod, and a pivot supporting the holder; whereby the front or rear of the holder may be turned to the operator at pleasure.

in testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribingwitnesses.

CARLISLE H. MIDDAUGH Witnesses:

WILLARD MIDDAUGH, HARRIETT MIDDAUGH. 

